Effects of Pesticides on Humans

Pesticides are implicated in a range of impacts on human health due to pollution. Source: Wikipedia Commons/Public Domain

"Pesticide exposure can cause a range of neurological health effects such as memory loss, loss of coordination, reduced speed of response to stimuli, reduced visual ability, altered or uncontrollable mood and general behavior, and reduced motor skills. These symptoms are often very subtle and may not be recognized by the medical community as a clinical effect. Other possible health effects include asthma, allergies, and hypersensitivity, and pesticide exposure is also linked with cancer, hormone disruption, and problems with reproduction and fetal development. Children are at greater risk from exposure to pesticides because of their small size: relative to their size, children eat, drink, and breathe more than adults. Their bodies and organs are growing rapidly, which also makes them more susceptible; in fact, children may be exposed to pesticides even while in the womb." ~Toxipedia

According to a Rachel Carson Council study on the unintended economic consequences of pesticides, "The estimated pollination losses to food production from pesticides' effects on honey bees and wild bees is $200 million per year. Destruction by pesticides of the natural enemies of pests can cost an estimated $520 million per year in the U.S.. A conservative estimate of fish (6-14 million) killed per year by pesticides ranges from $24 to $56 million and the total number of wild birds killed by pesticides is estimated at 67 million and the value of this bird loss to pesticides is $2.1 billion annually." Learn more.

"In recent studies of major rivers and streams, one or more pesticides were detected more than 90% of the time in water, in more than 80% of fish sampled, and in 33% of major aquifers. Significant fish and bird kills have resulted from the legal application of pesticides, with millions of fish and birds estimated to die from pesticide exposure each year." ~U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service